Who is Jesus?

Introduction

Who is Jesus?

So, throughout Mark, we’ve been journeying with the disciples, and we’ve seen some AMAZING things. Jesus has forgiven sin, healed the sick, cast out demons, and walked on water. And in all these stories about Jesus, there’s a question that was ringing in the back of the disciples’ mind, and sometimes, they even asked it out loud: Who is this guy?

I mean, imagine if there was a new student at school, and could do all kinds of stuff that normal people can’t do. Like he could control lightning and was super ripped and carried around a hammer that only he could pick up and had great hair. You’d be like who is this guy?! Maybe he’s Thor! No, maybe he’s TJ.

That’s what the disciples were like all the time with Jesus. So, in , Jesus flips the question on them. He asks them who they think he is.

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He asks who others say he is, and then he directs it at them. But who do YOU say that I am: Peter responds “You are the Messiah.”

But who is the Messiah? To understand that, you have to understand the whole story of the Bible.

In Genesis, God created the world perfectly, but humanity sinned. We chose our way over God’s way and the world started to fall apart because of it. So, God chose a dude named Abraham. He was like, “Sup Abraham, I’ma give you mad kids and you and your kids are going to show the world what I’m like.” But, even though God kept his promise to Abraham, Abraham’s family, the Israelites didn’t keep their end of the deal. They didn’t show the world what God is like. And because of sin, the destroyed themselves too, just like everyone else. So God raised up a king named David, and he was going to lead Israel to do what they were supposed to do. But even David failed. And all the kings after David were like NAH BRO, just let me be me. So God promised that there was going to be a king—a better king than David, who would perfectly show the world what God is like and rule like him. And that dude, that’s the Messiah. ()

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So, who is Jesus? He’s the Messiah.

What kind of Messiah?

Now, this passage right here marks a shift in the book of Mark. This is almost exactly halfway in the middle of book, and the question up to this point has been who is Jesus (and what’s the answer?). But now, the rest of the book shifts to a different question, which is What kind of Messiah is Jesus?

As seen in the Psalm read before, the Messiah is a king who is coming to rule over the nation and bring peace and hope. Many Jewish people of Jesus’ time assumed that the Messiah would come and go to war with all their enemies, and bring about a new physical/political kingdom in Israel. But Jesus is a different kind of Messiah.

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So Peter calls Jesus the Messiah, and, instead of announcing it to the world, gathering his army, and getting ready to be crowned king, Jesus tells the disciples about how he’s going to be rejected by everyone and suffer and die, but that he would raised from the dead!

And now, Peter’s like hold up. I thought you were the Messiah. This isn’t how being the Messiah is supposed to work! And Jesus goes after him. “Get behind me Satan!” Man, that’s intense. Why? Why does Jesus speak so strongly against Peter, because he’s thinking about everything from a perspective of Satan, from a sinful perspective. Listen, humans, in our brokenness have a twisted view of reality. We think that success means being the biggest or the best or the strongest. We think that the only thing that matters is winning. We think that we have to fight for what we want.

We watched Shazam! a couple weeks ago, and the villain in that movie feels wants the approval of his dad and brother. He wants to feel like he measures up. And the only way he can do that is to take power. So he does, he finds the lair with the seven deadly sins and tries to take it. Every villain in every superhero movie is fundamentally trying to do the same thing. The truth is, though, that that villain is in every one of us. We all try to take from others to get what we want. When I’m waiting in line to pick up Kendrick, I want to get ahead of everyone so I can get out faster.

But Jesus shows us another way, God’s way. God’s way of winning is by losing. God’s way is through suffering. God’s way is to give up his life for others.

Jesus, the God of the universe, died for you. They didn’t take his life from him, but he gave it up willingly. He told his disciples that he was going to do it! Isn’t that crazy. He chose to give up his life for you and for me, so that he could take the death that we deserve, and to give us new life in his resurrection!

So, what kind of Messiah is Jesus? One who gives up his life.

What should we do?

Then, Jesus explains how we fit into this story:

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The question is, if Jesus is the Messiah, and he’s a Messiah who gives up his life, what should we do? And the answer is “give up our lives.”

This passage seems confusing, but it is central to the Christian life. If you’re going to follow Jesus, you have to give up the things you want and follow Jesus wherever he leads you. And this is the hardest thing about Christianity. I don’t know what you want most in life. Most of my life, I have wanted to most to be liked by others, or to be comfortable and at peace. I used to want to play pro golf. I want to eat Chipotle every day. But if I spend my whole life fighting for these things, trying to take them in my own power, I’m going to end up empty. Listen, the most “successful” people in the world get to the top and realize that it’s empty. The only thing that will really give you life, true life, is God, and in order to get God, you have to give up what you want and go after what God wants.

When you get home tonight, you’re going to have a choice: what I want and what God wants. Your brother or sister is going to be annoying you and you’re going to want to yell at them. Will you give that up to follow Jesus?

Tomorrow at school, you’re going to see someone who was mean to you and you’re going to want to ignore them, or say something mean about them. Will you give that up to follow Jesus?

This weekend or this summer, you’re going to make some money babysitting or mowing lawns and you’re going to want to keep all of it for yourself. Will you give that up to follow Jesus?

Who is Jesus? The Messiah

What kind of Messiah is he? One who gives up his life

So what should we do? give up our lives too